Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Stock Jumps 5.5% – Time to Buy?

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA)’s stock price rose 5.5% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $10.66 and last traded at $10.7510. Approximately 5,916,749 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 15,495,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on IOVA. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $4.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $6.00 price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a report on Friday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.56.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of -15.07 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $7.49 and its 200 day moving average is $5.16.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 40.51% and a negative net margin of 89.11%.The business had revenue of $99.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.33) EPS. Iovance Biotherapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up 65.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iovance Biotherapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $153,744,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 11,959,505 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,897 shares during the period. Palo Alto Investors LP bought a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $22,032,229. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics during the second quarter valued at $20,773,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,645,702 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,592 shares during the period. 77.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing individualized cell therapies for patients with cancer. Its platform uses tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), immune cells collected from a patient’s tumor, expanded in a manufacturing facility and returned to the patient to help recognize and attack cancer cells.

The company’s lead product, Amtagvi (lifileucel), is an autologous TIL therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for certain adults with unresectable or metastatic melanoma that has progressed following prior treatment.